A Divinely Zabini and Longbottom Intervention
by FlickerDaCat
Summary: Nobody cares if Harry Potter loses every battle from here until the moment he faces Lord Voldemort. What matters is that he kills the fool when the time comes. And, that's where we come in; to make sure he survives long enough to get there.
1. The Black Jackal

**A Divinely Zabini and Longbottom Intervention**

**Title:** Year 1: The Black Jackal  
**Day/Theme:** 20. errands and affairs  
**Series:** Harry Potter  
**Character/Pairing:** Neville Longbottom, Blaise Zabini

**Summary:** Zabini first seeks out Neville on the Hogwarts Express.

**Date:** 11/10/2010

-.-.-.-

"Ah! I've been looking for you." A black boy entered Neville's compartment.

"Uhm...have we met?" Turning to look at the boy who looked no older than himself, Neville scrunched up his brow in confusion.

Giving him an exasperated sneer as he took a seat, the boy twisted his face back into a look of amusement before answering him.

"Not only blood traitors but forgetful, as well? My, you Longbottoms sure do live up to the ineptitude your name implies, don't you?" The boy with the Italian accent looked smug as the vitriol rolled off his tongue.

"No worries, Master, no worries. I should have expected it. After all, you went and came into this world through benefactors not of the clan. The memory loss was to be expected."

Neville couldn't understand what the boy was getting at and what's worse he was talking in riddles. Master? He didn't understand. Summoning up his courage, Neville tried to do something he would never dare to do with his own grandmother, he tried to **interrupt**.

"That's...nice, but w-who _are_ you?" Neville spat out in a mess of nerves, embarrassment and curiosity.

The Italian boy's eyebrow raised in dark amusement and cruel intentions.

"Right. Let's do that then shall we." He murmured softly, more to himself than for Neville's understanding.

With a flick of the boy's wrist suddenly the room felt softer, hazy, as if fog had somehow surrounded the room without warning, only leaving them in sharp detail.

"To business then, oh Lord of Abydos? Very well." With flourish, the eleven year old motioned to himself, changing his body language subtly to make himself seem more imposing. It was a laughable attempt due to his size and if it wasn't that Neville had such low self-esteem it probably wouldn't have worked so well.

"I am Blaise Zabini. I am the godchild Anubis, former god of Ancient Egypt, your partner on this mission to right the Divine Order by assisting one Harry Potter in his endeavors, and to my eternal disgust and well deserved glee your internationally more famous _lackey." _He spat this word as if it tasted foul within his mouth. _"_ever since the reunification of Upper and Lower Egypt. And, I am here to teach, no, drag your spineless-"

"W-wait, wha-what? Gods? Harry Potter? But, what does that have to do with me?" The British boy interrupted his companion for the second time that day. Only to realize that this time his companion was not as pleased to be interrupted, if the scowl on his face was anything to go by.

Grabbing Neville by the scruff of his robes Blaise raised him to eye level, before sneering in a voice that could have been called a purr had it not been as deep as a bark. It was a sound no human and much less an eleven year old should have been able to produce.

"**No disrespect meant, but I'm going to tell you this only once, Master Wepwawet, so listen carefully."** The hypocrisy wasn't lost on either of them.

"**We are here to make sure Voldemort dies and stays truly dead, this time around."** The jackel god growled at the question in the boy's eyes. _**"No, he's not dead!"**_

"**The only bid to greatness that ****clichéd, overly arrogant Dark Lord has is that he's creative when it comes to breaking the laws, which is why you and me are here to help **_**open**__**Potter's**__**path**_** to getting the job done. Brat wouldn't have a chance otherwise, you know."**

Longbottom made another attempt to speak.

"_**I'm**_** not done yet, Master." **He growled as a warning.

"**You? You don't get a choice. I don't care if you don't remember a thing. You chose to be born in that body, so you can forget sympathy." **His eyes narrowed in challenge, but when Neville didn't make a move to object he continued. **"The Neb-Neter-U****1 ****Clan, the family you were **_**supposed**_** to be born into, has dictated that our mission is to make sure we follow Potter and move around things so he-"**

"Wins?" Neville mumbled softly, not sure he was even speaking out loud.

A sharp look assured him he was. **"-Doesn't die. Nobody cares if he loses every battle from here until the moment he faces Lord Voldemort."** Neville twitched at the name and Zabini thankfully didn't comment as he was too interested in getting his point across to bother. **"What matters is that he kills the fool when the time comes. And, that's where we come in; to make sure he survives long enough to get there."**

Finally, the future Slytherin let the boy go. Returning to his seat, he picked up Trevor and slowly, almost curiously, looked him over as he allowed Longbottom to mull over his words.

"So, I'm this Wiwat guy."

"Wepwawet, my spineless master. Wep-wa-wet." The not-so-human boy across him chided, voice back to normal.

"R-right...and I have to stalk Harry so he doesn't die, until we want him to?" Neville found the idea of doing anything of the sort to be too unbelievable to be true, it just couldn't be happening to him. And, even if it was true, his clumsiness would definitely alert Harry that something was up.

"Not in so many words, my dear forgetful Master." the future Gryffindor winced as he had the rare foresight to realize that his future would be littered with veiled insults; most from the person in front of him.

"We'll just keep him alive until he's done his piece. Whether or not he survives after that, is completely and utterly upto just how much survival instinct the chit will have left, after everything is done." The dark smirk on the boy's features indicated just how little he thought of Harry's mental stability.

Standing up, with Trevor in tow, Zabini opened the compartment's door and stepped out into the hallway.

"You know what Longbottom, I think I'll send you on a small mission right now. Just to get you used to checking in on Potter." A small chuckle followed this statement. "I'll even give you a good motive."

With a twirl of his wand and an undecipherable mutter, later, Trevor was sent flying down the train's main corridor.

"Trevor!" Neville was horrified at what Zabini had done so callously, right in front of his eyes.

"Oops! I dare say, Master. I think your toad's gone missing. Might want to go **fetch it**, huh?" Neville sped out of the compartment as quickly as his girth would allow, running as he realized Trevor was nowhere to be found.

From behind him he could hear the dark looking Italian calling out. "Don't worry about me, I'll just find someone to pass the time. You just focus on finding your toad, OK?"

As a girl, who Blaise would later get to know as Pansy Parkinson, was passing him by he decided to put things in motion. "Lucky guy, using his toad to meet Harry Potter."

As Pansy zipped back to her compartment to spread the word that Harry Potter was on the train, Blaise felt accomplished, in the way a guy who was aware of the nature of the divine plan and intended to screw around with it for laughs, could be.

_**And, the rest was history...**_

-.-.-.-

**AN:** Maybe, if enough people like this I could lose what little sleep I get write a couple more chapters.

**Wepwawet** was an Ancient Egyptian god of war that took the form of a grey or white jackal. He was mistaken for a wolf by the Greeks. Before the reunification he was a war deity of Upper Egypt and Anubis' (god of Lower Egypt) dual counterpart.

The reunification war was a very violent and bloody affair in which Upper Egypt totally crushed Lower Egypt, and both Sekhmet and Wepwawet were worshipped as superior war gods in comparison to Anubis and Bastet. Ironically, the later gods are the ones who are better known today.

After the reunification, Wepwawet's main aspects as god of Death and War slowly got taken over by other gods and he was relegated to be a symbol of royalty until the late New Kingdom dynasties. However, his aspect of Opener of Ways would periodically be enough reason for the Pharaohs to pray to him, especially during times of war so that he would _open the way_ for the Pharaoh's chariot and keep him safe from harm or to gain enlightenment.

**1)** Egyptian. Meaning 'the Divine Lords'.


	2. Proof Of The Grey Jackal

**Title****:** Year 1: Proof Of the Grey Jackal  
**Day/Theme:** 21. look underneath  
**Series:** Harry Potter

**Summary:** In which, the Sorting Hat gives Neville surprising, yet utterly damning news.  
**Character(s):** Blaise Zabini, Neville Longbottom, Minerva McGonagall, Sorting Hat.

**Date:** 17/10/2010

-.-.-.-

"Longbottom, Neville" Professor McGonagall, announced to the rest of the Great Hall.

Stricken out of his daze, Neville jumped straight out of line and promptly tripped over himself when he heard his name.

As the Sorting Hat fell over his eyes, Neville could only pray that wherever he was going, it would be far away from that crazy god, or whatever it was, from the train.

"Well, I don't know about that. The Judge of the Dead usually goes where he will." The hat interjected amiably.

Despite the hat's intentions of calming the boy down, the chills going up and down Neville's spine seemed to multiply when he realized that the Sorting Hat didn't seem bothered by the fact that the was an evil something about to be sorted _into_ Hogwar-

… did he just say Judge of the Dead?

Sensing Neville's rising stress level, the Sorting Hat decided to intervene quickly. "If it makes you feel better, he usually goes into Ravenclaw. Although, with the way he was acting on the train I dare say Slytherin might be in his future this time."

The future Gryffindor may have wanted to scream for any of the other two options, but his curiosity got the best of him, despite his pending anxiety. "Does he always do this?"

"This? Oh, you mean corner you into helping out? I…don't really know. You don't really come through Hogwarts whenever you visit the Isles, my lord."

That statement struck Neville cold. "You think, I'm this Wipwiwat character, too?"

"Wepwawet, my lord. And, it's not that I think you are; I can see it. It's all here, tucked away, ready for you to find. You just need to look."

The chubby boy felt faint. It was true? Well, OK he certainly believed that the boy on the train was some freaky evil god of Ancient Times, but he had hoped he had been wrong about him. Neville knew he wasn't anything special. His whole life, his family had been half scared about him being a squib-

"Well, that and little Ms. Trelawney told me all about your prophecy, back when I was sorting her."

"Prophecy?" The future Gryffindor decided, there and then, that the world hated him. Hard.

"Yes, indeed. Strange girl, that one. Didn't even remember afterwards, you know? Heavens, I'd tell you about it, but sortings are supposed to be secret. Prophecy or no."

"Oh?" Neville had a sudden vision of throwing away the hat and running into the sunset. So far away that he wouldn't have to deal with the unfairness of perpetually secret prophecies, nasty gods or the possibility of dying while keeping Harry 'safe' from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

"Yes, well, on with your sorting, my lord. We mustn't dawdle."

Yes, Neville mused, keeping something as scary as Anubis waiting probably wasn't a good idea.

Neville's tummy rumbled quietly.

…especially, on an empty stomach.

"No Slytherin and no Ravenclaw, then? I agree, they probably would have been bad fits for you; on to the next house, then. Seems that you have the makings of a good team player and I see that you are a very loyal person, indeed. However, Hufflepuff isn't for you. Yes, yes, right here. I can see that though you can work well with others, you do cherish having time for yourself."

"However, you do seem to possess a quiet courage. Hmmm…yes, I think that would do well until you find your feet again. Yes, indeed. GRYFFINDOR!"

-.-.-.-

As Zabini watched Longbottom make a fool of himself by forgetting to take of the hat, he focused his attention on the boy in front of him. He couldn't see who the kid was, all he knew was that he had vibrant red hair and apparently had brothers in Gryffindor …a Weasley?

Anubis quietly observed the students around to see if anyone was checking. He didn't quite see how this was of any interest to anyone where any of these brats ended up; they had plenty of time to get to know them during the year, anyway.

Back to the point, no one was even looking in their direction. Blaise felt his mouth water, he could eat the blood traitor, in front of him, and no one would even notice. He _was_ hungry.

Remembering himself, Zabini wrinkled his nose, "…blood traitor trash shouldn't smell this edible."

"Weasley, Ronald!"

The boy walked towards the stool. Zabini blinked as he noticed that he had been caught within his thoughts the whole time.

_And, that was how Ron survived the night…_

-.-.-.-

**Omake:**

"Zabini, Blaise!" McGonagall intoned at last.

Finally, it was his turn.

"I know it's a sore subject for you, but…he will remember you again. He just needs time." The hat started to tell him in a consoling manner.

Anubis remained quiet for a moment. "…Hat, it's been a while since I have judged the living; however, I am willing to settle for a compromise. You will sort me and let me run along to dinner or I will eat you. Your choice."

"…touchy…"

"Hat with ragu it is then!" Zabini intoned in a mock cheerful manner.

-.-.-.-

_**AN:**__ Bad Anubis, bad! Silly jackal, people and hats are not food or dead carcasses…OK, so maybe they could be, but you're human now! So, big NO-NO!_

**Anubis** is one of the few gods that were worshipped throughout the entirety of Ancient Egyptian history.

He was originally a god of death that took care of the King and his family during the Old Kingdom (his name is thought to mean 'Royal Child'), and popular with the masses when that ended. In some areas of the Empire his cult was thought to rival Osiris's.

Somehow, he changed parents so often that he ended up having a war god father giving him a war god aspect which he lost after the Reunification, and then went right back to being a deity to things consistently related to death (mummification, judgment of souls, Lord of Duat, etc.).

After the Reunification, Anubis and Wepwawet (or Upuat/ Upuaut) started to be confused with each other, and at one point were believed to be aspects of each other (which happened much too often to the frustration of many Ancient Egyptian theologians).

After much consideration, some scholars have come to believe that while both Anubis and Wepwawet shared duties such as being gods of death, as well as, the guides and protectors of the dead, they had authority over different areas of Duat (pronounced 'Doo Wah'), the Egyptian Underworld before you get to heaven or hell.

Occasionally, the title of Opener of Ways was also shared by the two. However, Anubis was restricted to opening a safe path souls through Duat for the dearly departed, while Wepwawet would not only have said power (only for a different zip code) but also be capable of granting safe passage in the living world and leading one to enlightenment.

**In conclusion**, Anubis was a fickle, son of a heifer (yes, his original mom was a cow goddess) about everything that didn't have to do with death.


End file.
